Page 48 of Between Desire and Denial

“Dimitri Hardy,” Olive started with her pretty brown eyes narrowed on me. “Stop with the family talk.”

“I won’t. I saw my nephew this weekend with Declan.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice.”

She went to the dining room table to straighten papers, cleaning up to busy herself, but I wanted her full attention. “It is nice.” I put myself between her and the papers, took her wrist, and pulled her close instead of having her fiddle with something else. “Made me want a damn kid more than I ever have before.”

“Well, I’m sure there’s a lot of women who would—”

“Only one woman I can picture having my kids.”

“You’re getting a look in your eye. Is this how you get when you want to take some ridiculous risk, Dimitri? Because I’m not the one to do it with.”

“You agreed to this.”

“Don’t unleash your risk-taking, adrenaline-seeking behavior on me right when you get home.” She started to comb loose tendrils of her hair back into a bun, like she did when she got nervous.

Her anxiety caused something in my chest to burn. I wanted to dig until I found the root of her worry and find a way to ease it. So, I asked her the question I really wanted to know and that she’d avoided the first time we talked about. “You told me the first day we were here that you don’t like the idea of a family. Now I want to know, is that why you don’t want kids?”

“Please stop.” Her breath came faster. “You need to focus on making Paradise Grove like you. That’s all we’re doing here. Okay? That is it. I haven’t talked to you in a week. You can’t just come home with outrageous plans all of a sudden. We’re friends helping one another out.”

“I made it to the level of friendship now?” I smiled and took a step back. I’d drop the idea for now. Solidifying myself in her life was a win for today. I’d work on the rest.

“You proud of that?” She finally smirked and I saw how she instantly relaxed.

I just kept going so that she’d forget being nervous, forget anything that was in the past that might have hurt her. “Next, I’ll be boyfriend, Olive. Then, I’ll be baby daddy.”

She shook her head. “Friends. That is it. Put me in your friend zone and lock me up in there, okay?”

There was no way I’d do that. “Fine. For now.”

“Good. I’ll kiss you in public for the benefit of this stupid agreement we have,” she clarified with a hand on her hip. “That’s it.”

“Fuck that. I’m kissing you everywhere, Olive,” I growled and yanked her body to mine before I devoured her.

Chapter Seventeen

OLIVE

Dimitri might have hada lapse of sanity when he got home. Maybe he’d missed screwing around with me, which had him considering more. Yet, after that, we fell into a perfectly cordial, friendly routine for a whole week. We ate quietly together while we both worked, went to bed at about the same time every night, and made small talk.

But he respected my space. He held my hand during our scheduled daily walks around the neighborhood but did nothing more. He even made sure to sleep with his head at the foot of the bed and mine at the top.

Not that it stopped my body from gravitating toward his every night. I hated myself for it too. I’d specifically told him I didn’t like to cuddle, and the statement was true in that I didn’t want to get attached.

Rufford had never cuddled me, and so I told myself it was unnecessary. Still, somehow, I would wake up with my ass tucked into Dimitri’s crotch every single morning, like I was hungry for his touch even in my sleep.

Today, I moved faster than lightning to get out of bed and put on a sweater and leggings, got ready in the bathroom bythrowing on a bit of concealer, mascara, and the pink flower in my hair before I pulled it back into a ponytail, and went to make myself coffee.

I didn’t look his way at all, didn’t stare at his perfect bare chest, didn’t wonder what he was dreaming about. Not even for a second.

“I can handle anything if I keep my legs closed,” I mumbled to myself as I went to the kitchen and opened a dating app. “Or I’ll find someone else.” I’d swipe right as much as I could for now. Maybe I’d start communicating with someone fun and forget all about Dimitri.

I lowered my head on the counter and groaned for a second.

“I feel that way about mornings too.” Dimitri’s groggy voice sounded from the hall, and when I looked up, I wanted to groan all over again. He’d left his shirt off when he walked out of the bedroom. And I practically had to wipe drool from my face.

I needed to focus on something else. “Actually, I’m feeling that way about helping Lucille with the finishing touches on the article at the moment.”